Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here! It was only our first speaker of the session and the interns got to spring into the world of reptiles. Peter Gilson, Zoo Educator and Reptile Keeper was our guide for the afternoon. We visited three areas of the Reptile Mesa where we got to meet Galapagos tortoises, amphibians of the tropics, and numerous other reptiles from various continents! [caption id="attachment_121255" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Mr. Gilson starts his day before sunrise. On top of making sure the animals have food, water and clean homes, his work also includes exhibit maintenance and paying attention to any unusual animal behavior. He jokes that most enclosures are kept warm so he finds it nice to work on cold mornings.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_121256" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Did you know where the Galapagos Islands are located? They are a group of islands off the coast of Ecuador. There are huge tortoises that live on each of these islands. On each island, the tortoises have slightly different adaptations in their shells to help them with survival.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_121257" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Mr. Gilson took us to an indoor enclosure known as the barn. These tortoises are attracted to brightly colored items because they believe them to be something yummy to eat. Thankfully none of the interns were wearing bright orange shoes that could be mistaken for a giant carrot![/caption] [caption id="attachment_121258" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Galapagos tortoises exhibit a unique behavior called the finch response. You can see the tortoise on the left doing this exact behavior! In the finch response, tortoises are actually signaling to a finch that they are clear for landing. The finches land on the underside of the tortoise to make a meal out of any external parasites the tortoise may have on their skin. . This interaction is deemed a symbiotic relationship as both members benefit from it.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_121259" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Notice the green tint on the tortoise’s mouth? These tortoises are offered kale, collard, mustard, dandelion greens, bokchoy, and other fruits and vegetables. A full-grown Galapagos tortoise can consume up to 80 pounds of food a day! Despite this impressive number, their metabolism works slowly and overeating can actually put the tortoises at risk of becoming overweight and developing arthritis. In order to prevent this, the Zoo monitors the tortoise’s diets closely and regularly weighs them.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_121260" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Just before visiting some amphibians, Mr. Gilson stopped in front of this tree. Look closely at the tree trunk on the right. Can you see that the trunk looks different from the left side? Mr. Gilson explained that when this tree was first transplanted, keepers noticed it was getting sunburned. Keepers realized that the direction a tree is facing is very important in the transplanting process and plays an important role in avoiding this problem.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_121261" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Once entering the behind the scenes area for the amphibians, the interns immediately noted the warm temperature and humidity. One amphibian we got to see was a species called Dendrobatidae, or more commonly known as a poison frog. In order to avoid confusion, amphibians are referred to by their Latin scientific names. Dendrobatidae is latin for “one who walks in the trees.”[/caption] [caption id="attachment_121262" align="aligncenter" width="775"] Interns got to see leaf-tailed gecko similar to the one pictured here and it was definitely a treat to see. As their name implies, this gecko’s tail is flat like a leaf, an adaptation it uses as camouflage.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_121263" align="aligncenter" width="800"] This is a specialized system for tadpole rearing. After breeding, tadpoles are hatched and placed into the upper compartments. Then, as they grow, they are moved down level by level. The entire system uses one pump to circulate and filter water for each compartment.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_121264" align="aligncenter" width="800"] This is the back view of the Australian green tree frog exhibit. For more active species of amphibians, keepers would not be able to leave the enclosure open like this. Especially for the smaller frogs, they have the ability to escape through the tiniest of holes! Mr. Gilson also described how boisterous their croaking call is. It’s almost like you are hearing a dog bark![/caption] [caption id="attachment_121265" align="aligncenter" width="800"] This very organized compilation of exhibits is actually a holding area known as the “big room.” Each exhibit on the right holds one Fijian iguana that are solitary in nature. These large lizards are bright green live up in trees and have super strong limbs and long claws for gripping onto tree branches. They also have a very impressive tail for balance.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_121266" align="aligncenter" width="604"] A prehensile-tailed skink actually has a belly-button! This is a very special type of reptile species known as viviparous, which means they give birth to live young rather than by egg like the majority of reptiles. The other cool fact about these reptiles is that the females only give birth to one offspring at a time because the baby is about one-third the size of the mother![/caption] [caption id="attachment_121267" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Mr. Gilson is holding his favorite type of lizard, the Fijian iguana. Mr. Gilson had an opportunity to share his passion for favorite iguanas when he traveled to Fiji to help with conservation education. Mr. Gilson played a very integral role sharing his knowledge with the Fijian community in the hopes that increased education about this species will help preserve the current numbers. I hope to one day be able to work with reptiles and fulfill that same passion just like Mr. Gilson is able to do.[/caption] Gianfranco, Photo Team Winter Session, 2017